Anu Partanen - The Nordic Theory of Everything

An unusual read comparing living in Finland to living in America. Makes you think about what on earth you're chasing, and maybe it isn't worth chasing and you should start living.

Gabriel García Marquez - Memories of my Melancholy Whores

A light, ethereal and compelling read. A strange subject of love between a 90 year old man and his teenage love. Disquieting.

Just forgotten what was written on the mirror about a tiger

Chuck Palunchuk - Fight Club

A superbly written book, full of great ideas, prose, and quotes

“It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything.”

“This is your life and its ending one moment at a time.” 

“You are not special. You're not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You're the same decaying organic matter as everything else. We're all part of the same compost heap. We're all singing, all dancing crap of the world.” 

“The things you used to own, now they own you.” 

“You buy furniture. You tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. Buy the sofa, then for a couple years you're satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you've got your sofa issue handled. Then the right set of dishes. Then the perfect bed. The drapes. The rug. Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you.” 

“Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need.” 

The quotes are endless really. just read the book!

Back home from visiting Parents

A good and varied week.

Last Saturday was down to the boat, which was a good reminder about why we bought the boat in the first place.

Sunday was watching the football with P&T and SR, which is about enjoying people and the moment.

Four long days at work and then Thursday evening down to visit parents.

Dad wasn't great, he was tired and tired of being tired. We went to the hospital for some of his tests and treatment. He's an old man now and looks like one.

Home now on Sunday evening, back to work tomorrow.

Pale Fire - Vladimir Nabokov

An interesting read, in three parts. The first being a prologue setting the scene from 'Kimbot's perspective, then Shade's poem, and then Kimbot's interpretation of the poem. He is nuts, just increasingly bonkers.

A difficult read, but rewarding.

Happy - Derren Brown

quite a dense read, full of Seneca and Aurelius, but very worthwhile to make you think. Take a more Stoic and relaxed view on life.

Sunday 18th February - Birthday, Burial, and Beer

Another week flies by, and a busy one too.

Work was hard, with a bad migraine that laid me low for a couple of days. Had to leave work on the Wednesday and still rough on the Thursday.

Thursday we borrowed S&R's BMW and took Jo's folks to Kath's funerals the Friday. Most of the extended family were there. It seems that she was religious and it was a burial in their village. The wake was in a local halls and it was good to catch up with family, even at a difficult time for many of them. Back home around five and an early night.

Saturday was down the gym come sempre for a good workout. At home Jo gave me my presents; playmobil! and a book and Rubik's cube from the kids. Then around S&R's to return the car. They had bought me some badges, an old board game about space, and a book on Brutalism. Next we took the MX5 out for a spin, which was great in the bright sky. We went to the boat and ran that for a while. It was glorious and good to remind ourselves about how peaceful it all was. The even the four of us went to Shiki's for a meal, and then home for bed. Very tired.

Sunday, today, down gym early again. Then ironing and food shopping. S&R came round on their bikes and the four os us went up to Pat and Thornton's to watch Norwich vs Ipswich on the tele; a 1-1 draw. Home for a sleep, and then phone call to parents.

Now very tired again and soon time for bed. This coming week will be another busy one, which means that the winter goes quickly. This week is chiropractic and physio tomorrow, and Friday I drive down to my folks to see how Dad is getting on.

Roll on Springtime!

The Machine Stops - E. M. Forster

Wow, this ones rather powerful.

Hopped across to it after reading a piece about some aesthetic christian monk type people who lived alone in holes or caves around the 3rd Century north Africa.

There was a comment about people living in hexagons underground on an apocalyptic Earth. These humans eschew all physical contact and within their hexagons communicate by videophone (Skype), watch lectures (youtube), and recycle original ideas (everything).

Although only a novella, written in 1909, it packs a powerful punch.

Beware of first- hand ideas!' exclaimed one of the most advanced of them. 'First-hand ideas do not really exist. They are but the physical impressions produced by live and fear, and on this gross foundation who could erect a philosophy? Let your ideas be second-hand, and if possible tenth-hand, for then they will be far removed from that disturbing element - direct observation

Vashti was seized with the terrors of direct experience. She shrank back into the room, and the wall closed up again

“Cannot you see, cannot all you lecturers see, that it is we that are dying, and that down here the only thing that really lives is the Machine? We created the Machine, to do our will, but we cannot make it do our will now. It has robbed us of the sense of space and of the sense of touch, it has blurred every human relation and narrowed down love to a carnal act, it has paralyzed our bodies and our wills, and now it compels us to worship it. The Machine develops - but not on our lies. The Machine proceeds - but not to our goal. We only exist as the blood corpuscles that course through its arteries, and if it could work without us, it would let us die.” 

The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett

Classic noir from 1929. Every noir cliché in the book...

Don't think I need to read any more of these, just a bit routine, pulp fiction

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater - Thomas de Quincey

The text is a bit dense; he loves his long sentences and digressions. But interesting all the same about the pleasures of opium and the pain of coming off. A nineteenth century Trainspotting

Minimalism and French and Seneca

Crikey, it's Sunday 4th February already. Cold and wet outside, so just down the gym at six, then food shopping followed by minor DIY. Joanne's starting to get over her cold and I'm pretty much back to normal.

Mood still good! Two thirds of the way through the year and all is well.

Trying to fix daughter's PC with a new hard drive, but struggling. It'll go to work tomorrow and I'll get it sorted there by people who know what they're doing

Very quiet week with head colds, so nothing to report other than out last night to a friend's 50th. A very pleasant evening in the Picture House in Norwich. A few drinks and a few friends. Slight hangover.

Minimalising continues, a few more clothes, some shoes and books to the charity shop. I don't seem to have much of my own left to go, except the garage I suppose but I'll hit that again next warm weekend. The trouble is the shared stuff that'll have to stay.

Loads more French studies plus getting into Seneca and Michel de Montaigne, the latter keeps quoting the former, so lots of referencing.

Now to watch the Rugby on tele and work tomorrow.